Leona's Loot and Deceptive Commentary

In last Sunday's commentary section of the Trib, there was an article by David Martosko titled "Let Leona's Loot Go To The Dogs." The story starts off by refreshing our memory about hotelier Leona Helmsley's Maltese who inherited $12 million when Ms. Helmsley died, then announces that $8 billion from the hotel magnate's estate has been earmarked for programs that aid dogs. Martosko makes some valid points about the enormous sum of money Americans spend on their pets and yet, animal shelters throughout the nation are overflowing with unwanted pets. He continues by stating that what we need are more no-kill shelters, spay neuter programs, and "more effective ways to promote the moral imperative of rescuing unwanted dogs from a lonesome existence that is often far too short." Who's to argue with that? But next, Martosko bewails the lack of a national umbrella group that oversees the shelters and organizations who work to end animal abuse, neglect and homelessness. This lack, he claims, destroys the possibility that Ms. Helmsley's billions will ever be used effectively to help needy dogs. In fact, he says, two groups who are already making claims on the loot; PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) are not worthy of receiving it.

Ah ha, now we get down to Mr. Marktosko's true intention for this article. He proceeds to villianize the two groups, claiming they waste more money than they use effectively and are actually responsible for killing more animals than they save. So, just who is this person bent on smearing the reputation of PETA and HSUS? The credit at the end of the article reads "David Martosko is a national expert on the politics of the animal protection movement, and is research director at the center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit activist watchdog group based in Washington, D.C." According to the website Consumer Deception.com, the Center for Consumer Freedom is a tool of lobbyist Richard Berman who funnels large sums of corporate money into non profits that he's set up, then uses them to launch campaigns against groups whose viewpoints impact the profit of his clients. Who are his clients, you ask? Big tobacco, alcohol and many in the food industry. He has taken on PETA and other agencies due to their victories over the inhumane treatment of farm animals, which has affected the fast food industry's pockets.

While Martosko did raise an interesting issue about who would be best suited to wisely disseminate a sum of $8 billion, I am disappointed that any newspaper wasted space on an article that serves to promote a tainted agenda. At the end of his article, Martosko tries to get back on the subject of America's dogs in need. He quips, if the people responsible for allocating Ms. Helmsley's estate will make sure that the money goes to the worthiest candidates, then they may be lucky enough to return as cows in India in their next life. Which tells me all I need to know about how aware this man is about animal rights' issues throughout the world. The cows in India are dying from eating plastic garbage bags because they're expected to fend for themselves and are starving.