Friday, March 29, 2013

Mendacity: III

The Post is correct that the Maryland General Assembly must take action on pit-bull legislation [Beware of dog legislation, editorial, March 24].
    Tami Santelli, Maryland State Director, HSUS
    Letter to the Washington Post, March 26, 2013
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The excerpt above is from a letter Ms Santelli wrote to the editors of the Washington Post; her letter was written in response to an opinion piece written by the Washington Post Editorial Board.

The problem is, the editorial that Ms Santelli refers to (Beware of dog legislation) doesn't exist. At least not by that title.

Ms Santelli's letter was written in response to an editorial titled Pit Bull Owners Left in Limbo over Liability, and her link in fact points to that article. The true title is not only a treasure trove of Poe-tic alliteration, but it accurately reflects the reasoned tone of the opinion offered by the Editorial Board.

Ms Santelli fabricated the title Beware of dog legislation. She has rewritten the title of a Washington Post editorial, which not many of us have the opportunity to do.

According to her professional biography Ms Santelli is a graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School. She may not recognize that corrupting the title of a Washington Post editorial is an ethical lapse, but others may view it that way. Ms Santelli's substitution is indicative of the "Win-at-any-cost" ethos that HSUS has used during the Maryland campaign. It's clear that HSUS is willing to resort to unethical methods to achieve their goals.

* * * * *

Notes:
This post is one of a series on the Maryland pit bull conundrum. To view the index of all Maryland posts click here.

In a recent 57 day period (Jan 8 through Mar 6, 2013) there were six fatal pit bull attacks, all of which were committed by family pit bulls. See Fatal Pit Bull Attacks

Statistics are from Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, published by Animal People. To view or download the current PDF click here.

News:
House, Senate Still at impasse
   (Baltimore Sun, March 27, 2013)
Pit Bull Owners Left in Limbo Over Liability
   (Washington Post Opinion, March 23, 2013)
Amendment may kill pit bull legislation in Maryland
   (WBAL TV 11, March 15, 2013)
House, Senate Far Apart On Legislation
   (Baltimore Sun, March 14, 2013)
Pit bull bill in Peril as Senate Hardens Position
   (Baltimore Sun, March 12, 2013)
Senate, House Considering Different Pit Bull Bills
   (WBAL 1090 AM, March 12, 2013)
Senate Dog-Bite Bill Different From House
   (CBS DC, March 12, 2013)
Dog bite victim's uncle talks about saving her
   (abc2news.com, March 11, 2013)
Pit bull bill compromise unravels
   (Baltimore Sun, March 8, 2013)
Court partly backs off pit bull ruling
   (Baltimore Sun, August 21, 2012)


Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

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