Category: Critters

The critters we love and the critters that deserve our love.

Jason Smith’s own Personal Interest in Proposition B

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date February 12, 2011

The legislation I talked about in the last article, HJR 17, is sponsored by Representative Jason Smith.

If you attended the House meetings on Proposition B bills in the last few weeks, you probably witnessed Representative Smith’s aggressive grilling of those testifying for Proposition B. Though not part of the committee holding the hearings, Representative Smith attended as an Ex-officio member based on his position as Majority Whip.

What you might not know, because he did not state this during the hearing, is that Jason Smith has a personal axe to grind about Proposition B.

In the weeks leading to the Proposition B vote, HSUS released a report called Missouri’s Dirty Dozen, describing several of the worst large scale commercial breeders in the state. Among them is a breeder named Mary Ann Smith.

I looked at Mary Ann Smith’s USDA inspection reports. Among the repeating violations are those that include sick and injured dogs, insufficient space, poor maintenance, as well as inadequate shelter from the cold for dogs in outdoor kennels.

Mary Ann Smith is also Jason Smith’s mother.

I was stunned when I read this information. I would have expected Representative Smith to recuse himself from actively participating in the hearing, considering his personal involvement. At a minimum, I would have expected him to say something to the people attending the hearing. He did neither.

Not only did Representative Smith actively participate in the hearing, he did so aggressively, and with a great degree of animosity, as perceived by those who attended the hearing. In my opinion, such actions are irregular, and highly unethical. What makes such behavior worse is that he’s a member of the House Ethics committee

Now, with his support of a Constitutional Amendment banning any citizen initiative related to animals (HJR 17), Representative Smith wants to ensure that people like him are the only people to ever make a decision about animals again in this state.

Critters Legal, Laws, and Regs

No love for puppies from Missouri Senate on Valentine’s Day

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date February 11, 2011

The Senate agricultural approved bill to gut Proposition B, the combined SB 113 and SB 95, is up for perfection, which means debate on the Senate floor, Monday, February 14th.

Yes, the Missouri agribusiness sponsored representatives are moving quickly—trying to steal our vote before most of the people of Missouri are aware of what’s happening. With all the other contentious actions happening in Missouri—including several other bills that seem to be based on overriding the people—the agricultural committee is probably hoping their actions to gut Proposition B fly under the radar.

I do know that what’s happening with Proposition B has not received the notice from the mainstream media it should be getting. Perhaps because so many of the TV news shows are sponsored in part by the big agribusiness concern, Monsanto.

Critters

Tony speaks and the House meets

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date February 10, 2011

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Another meeting on the House anti-Proposition B bill HB 131 will be held Tuesday, February 15th at 12pm in House Hearing Room 6. The meeting is an executive session, where those rascally representatives see how they can contrive to gut Proposition B but only make it seem as if they’re making minor modifications.

HB 131 not only removes all the provisions of Proposition B, it also redefines it so that the remaining scraps of text only apply to breeders with over 100 dogs. I just hope the representatives’ agribusiness masters give them their treats, pat them on the head for a job well done.

That’s a good Representative! Good rep! Want me to scratch your belly now?

A glimmer of light is seen, though, and the color of the light is red. Cardinal red, to be exact.

Cardinal’s manager Tony La Russa has come out, swinging yet again, in support of Proposition B.

Update My pardon, but I originally thought the meeting next Tuesday was a public hearing, but the meeting is an Executive session. Evidently the representatives found it too difficult to maintain a facade of openness.

So much easier to steal the vote from the people when we’re not watching.

Critters Government Legal, Laws, and Regs

Another “while you were snowbound” agricultural committee public meeting

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date February 6, 2011

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Though not related to Proposition B (“What? You mean the Missouri state legislature has been working on other legislation!?”), Show Me Progress points out that the House agricultural committee also held another “public meeting” on yet another travesty of a bill: HB 209.

What HB 209 does is limit the actions on the part of those who are neighbors to a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feed Operations) if the CAFO creates a public nuisance.

When all other committee public meetings were canceled during the snow and ice storm, presumably so that people can attend the public meetings when the weather improves, the agricultural committee barreled through most of its meetings it knew would generate a great deal of interest from those who don’t necessarily agree with the committee’s views.

That the committee would do so may be allowable according to the rules, but it is hardly open, and frankly, not particularly ethical.

update

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Political Fix has more on the non-public public meeting for HB 209.

Critters

While you were snowbound

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date February 4, 2011

We commend the state representatives for slogging along, right in the middle of one of the worst winter storms to hit Missouri in years. On February 2nd, our intrepid representatives managed to hold together long enough to refer HB 281 and HB 332 to the agricultural committee. In addition, the House agricultural committee also held public meetings on HB 100, which basically denies the ability to create any new agricultural regulations, and HJR 3, which would disallow any future citizen initiatives having to do with livestock, including pet animal breeders.

Of course, the public was stuck at home or in traffic, surrounded by snow and ice. Soooo sorry we couldn’t make it to the public meetings. How glad we are that you soldiered through without us…and without our input.

But wait…there’s more…

Our busy little representatives have filed yet another bill to modify Proposition B: HB 405. I haven’t checked it word for word, but it seems to parrot the Senate bill SB 113, which was passed by the Senate agricultural committee last week. Just like the senate bill, HB 405 suggests it is a “modification” when it does nothing more than gut Proposition B. Another devious, deceptive act by our good state representatives.

Let’s not stop there, though. The House also heard the second reading of HJR 17, which is yet another Constitutional amendment to prohibit any new regulations related to agriculture, hunting, or fishing in this state.

No other industry in Missouri receives such protections. Evidently to some Missouri state representatives, Missouri should have no other industry but farming, and probably no other people but farmers. After all, this seems to be the only work being accomplished in Jefferson City.

This flurry of panicked, paranoid bills forces me to the conclusion that our Missouri state representatives are more afraid of happy, fluffy kittens and healthy, cute puppies than al-Queda.