PETA needs to calm down

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals need to sit down somewhere.

President Barack Obama killed an ordinary housefly during an interview that aired yesterday and PETA, the folks who fight for animal rights, called the swatting an "execution" and asked the President to be more compassionate.

What?!

"We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Freidrich explained.

The group sent Obama a device that traps flies so they can then be released outside.

I am all for the ethical treatment of animals. I certainly don't want people abusing cats, dogs, elephants, tigers, etc. You get the picture. But flies? That's another story.

Flies are annoying. They aim for your food at picnics. Tickle your skin when they land on you. Buzz in your ears. Oh, how they are annoying.

I wouldn't go as far as saying flies deserved to be killed, but when they are inside - not outside where they belong - and getting on my nerves - then, I'm swatting, and if I get it, so be it.

PETA there are more important things in life than expecting people to be more compassionate toward flies.

Is Match.com mismatched?

A group of online daters have filed a lawsuit against Match.com, an Internet dating site where my husband and I met.

The federal lawsuit alleges that Match.com goaded members into renewing their subscriptions by having employees send phony romantic emails to members and in some cases, employees posed as Match.com members and even went on dates with subscribers.

Match.com spokesperson Kristen Kelly told USAToday.com that the company "absolutely does not" hire people to go on dates with members or send members misleading romantic emails. The company has about 15 million members worldwide and 250 employees.  

But plaintiff Matthew Evans said in the suit that he went out with a woman he met through the site who turned out to be nothing more than "date bait" working for the company. The relationship went nowhere, according to his suit. Evans says Match set up the date for him because it wanted to keep him from pulling the plug on his subscription and was hoping he'd tell other potential members about the pretty woman he met through the service, according to the suit.

If Match is guilty of what the daters have accused them of, then shame on them.  It's hard enough to date these days, but to be tricked into going on a date or deceived by fake emails is horrible. For some people, online dating is a big step. People are worried about the connotation it sends - that they are desperate. I have a friend who met her husband on Match.com, but didn't tell anyone how they met until after they were married because she was worried about what people would think of her.

I truly hope the accusations are false, because I'm a big cheerleader of the site, since it worked for me. But if the Internet dating site is guilty, I'm putting down my pom-poms.

 

In some states, you must pay to park

I was shocked by two things earlier this week. One, that my mother has a handicapped placard and two, that she had to pay $30 for it.

After thinking for a minute about my mother's health conditions - the heel spurs that make her heels raw and her back problems that make her sometimes walk at a snail's pace - the shock of her having a handicapped tag wore off.

But I'm still stunned that she had to pay for the placard.

My mother, who lives in Tennessee, paid $30 for hers. She said she didn't want to pay the money, but when she's in pain, but still has errands to run, she's happy she shelled out the cash for the privilege to park as close to the door as possible.

In New Jersey, where I live, the placard is free.

Charging for the placard is like punishing the handicapped on top of their disability.  I'm sure state officials can site production costs, but how much does it actually cost to print that thin blue tag?

Maybe in the states that charge for the placards and license plates officials are trying to cut back on people taking advantage of the parking privilege.  But a doctor must sign off on the application.

What do you think? Should the handicapped be charged for their placard or special plate?

Pregnancy vs. The Elderly

I was on the subway the other day and it was super crowded, so much so, that a pregnant woman was standing up. At the next stop, a few people got off and a seat opened up. As a man, who was standing tried to get the pregnant woman's attention so she could sit down, an elderly man eased into the seat. He saw the pregnant woman, but didn't get up. Eyebrows raised.

So, it made me wonder does being a senior citizen trump being pregnant when there's one seat left on the subway?

I guess the old man thought so. 

He may have been thinking, "She may be pregnant, but she's young and pregnant. I'm old." His back may have been sore and his feet may have been swollen.

I'm totally guessing here, but the woman looked like she may have been six to seven months pregnant. I wonder if she thought the old man was being insensitive. She may have been on her feet all day. She baby may have been sitting in an awkward position and sitting may have helped, but she didn't say anything. 

Should she have had to, though?

What do you think?

By the way, I was standing on the subway, but would have immediately offered her my seat if I had one to give.