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Yesterday, Washingtonians for Humane Farms, an organization supported by the Humane Society of the United States and Farm Sanctuary filed a proposed ballot initiative and started a campaign in Washington state to halt the use of battery cage confinement in egg production. It’s an exciting moment for Washington and for the entire animal welfare and cage-free movements. As Humane Society CEO, Wayne Pacelle puts it, this is to help correct a serious moral failure in Washington:

We are generally reluctant to proceed with ballot initiatives, and prefer negotiated agreements, as we achieved not too long ago with agricultural leaders in Michigan. But when talks fail, we are left without other options. There is a major moral issue at stake here. It is cruel and inhumane to cram and crowd together for life laying hens in small cages. The birds are so tightly packed that they are unable to move much at all and entirely unable to nest, dust-bathe or perch. It is a life of privation and frustration.

Perhaps the key point is, there is a commercially viable alternative: cage-free production. Many egg producers maintain cage flocks and cage-free flocks, so they know they can raise animals without keeping them locked in tiny cages. With so many retailers, such as Burger King, Safeway and others increasing their share of cage-free egg purchases, or going entirely cage-free, like Whole Foods, it’s clear that this is the trajectory of this industry. A stubborn refusal to change old and inhumane ways is not going to help the industry. All industries must adapt and innovate with changing times and attitudes, and the writing has been on the wall for a long time with this industry.

Environmental, public health and animal cruelty violations in Washington battery cage operations date back more than a decade. In 1999, Amberson Farms was fined by the state’s Department of Ecology for discharging Salmonella-polluted runoff into a salmon-bearing tributary of Lake Stevens while plaguing the neighboring community with swarms of flies and a stench that affected nearby schoolchildren. Fecal bacteria levels in the afflicted waterway were 15 times the state’s contamination limit, leading the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to threaten the egg factory with penalties of up to $27,500 a day. A cruelty complaint led sheriff’s deputies to the ghoulish discovery of thousands of hens dead or dying of starvation in a rat-infested shed with inoperable feeding and watering systems. The owner pleaded guilty to animal cruelty, yet paid only a $500 fine.

Though Amberson Farms is now gone, the problems associated with battery cage operations continue. At one massive cage facility designed to hold 1.8 million birds, Washington State University researchers found: “The fly population was rated 5 on a scale of 1 to 5…A score of 5 reflected a fly population so high that the workers could not talk to each other for fear of flies getting into their mouths.”

The status quo in Washington is bad for the birds, bad for consumers, bad for the environment, and bad for the workers. It’s time for change. We succeeded in California (Prop 2) just over two years ago, and we can do it in Washington this year. But we need your help to gather over 300,000 signatures and put together a full-scale campaign. Go to humanewa.com to get involved.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I consult with the Humane Society of the United States on ways to expand their online community to protect animals and confront cruelty — something very important to me and my family.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the Missouri legislature is stumbling towards public outrage by threatening to overturn a citizen-backed backed ballot initiative. The proposition, just passed in November, will protect hundreds of thousands of puppies and breeding dogs ensuring basic standards like veterinary care and the ability to move around; that is, if the Missouri legislature doesn’t pass a politically misguided, anti-democratic repeal effort.

Yesterday, Humane Society of the United States CEO, Wayne Pacelle, was in Missouri making the (pretty obvious) case to Missouri lawmakers:

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said the new dog-breeding law offers more protection for the animals and has the imprimatur of voters. He said it would be unfair for lawmakers to overrule their constituents’ decision only a few months after it was approved and before the law takes effect.

“We believe that commercial dog breeding is an acceptable enterprise,” Pacelle said Wednesday. “But we insist that it be done humanely, that the animals get veterinary care, that they have enough space to move around and that they’re protected from the elements.”

The law approved by voters limits people to 50 breeding dogs and requires that the animals are fed daily, provided annual veterinary care and given unfettered access to an outdoor exercise yard. Dogs also cannot be bred more than twice every 18 months.

The law, which takes effect later this year, makes violations a misdemeanor carrying up to 15 days in jail and a $300 fine. It was approved by 52 percent of the vote in November.

Several lawmakers have filed bills this year focused on the law, including an outright repeal or exemption from the new requirements for the state’s current dog breeders.

If you’re in Missouri, tell your legislature to defend the will of the people and Missouri’s dogs. You can get involved here.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I consult with the Humane Society of the United States on ways to expand their online community to protect animals and confront cruelty — something very important to me and my family.

For those of you who read this blog often, you already know that I’ve been a friend of Dennis Kucinich for a long time. He’s one of the few progressive leaders in Congress who has had the courage to stand up again and again for what he thinks is best for his constituents and his country, regardless of the political consequences.

Now Republicans in Ohio are targeting his district, hoping to erase it from the map when the redistricting battle begins. But Dennis isn’t just waiting to see what tricks the Republicans will pull, he’s already reaching out to his supporters to get them involved in the fight.

From POLITICO today:

Just before the end of the year, Kucinich sent an e-mail to his supporters headlined “My Congressional District May Be Eliminated,” warning: “We are going to have to prepare for a different kind of election, possibly in a different place because my district may be eliminated. We are going to have to organize in a different way now.”

Over the past several weeks, the former Cleveland mayor and city councilman who has never won reelection with less than 53 percent of the vote has also embraced a campaignlike approach, attending a string of city club meetings, festivals, political lunches and inaugurations of local elected officials.

…The congressman told POLITICO in an interview that he decided to get a head start on redistricting and alert his supporters to the political realities he faces. He said he expected to send another e-mail to his nationwide list of supporters in the coming days.

“My life has never been about waiting for things to happen,” Kucinich said. “The wrong thing to do is to wait until December. My district might be eliminated, and I need to start thinking about it now.”

Please join me and help support one of the few true progressives left in Congress. Sign up to stay up to date on the re-districting battle and help keep Dennis in Congress: http://kucinich.us/

DISCLOSURE: I do occasional consulting work for Dennis Kucinich and am lucky to count him as a friend.

Cross-posted from foxnews.com

Since the tragic events in Arizona unfolded on Saturday the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the six victims who were killed and the 14 others who were wounded has quickly become politicized. My own view is that it’s a mistake to politicize this attack.

One of the problems of a free society is that one crazy person can do something like this.

If we took all the steps necessary to prevent this attack we would either not be able to meet with our elected officials or a lot of people we only think are crazy would be in jail — locked up.

All this talk of “watching our language” in public debate runs counter to freedom of speech and ignores the fact that in a country of 300 million people there was only 1 person who didn’t grasp that speech is speech — that you don’t use a gun in a debate.

We can not create a free society in which there is no chance of a tragedy like this.

Joe Trippi is a Fox News contributor and political strategist who worked for Ted Kennedy, Walter Mondale and Gary Hart and turned Howard Dean into an unlikely front runner in 2004. For more visit JoeTrippi.com.

Nice nod for Jerry Brown from Politics Daily, which named him one of the “Top 12 Political Surprises of 2010″:

Democrat Jerry Brown served two terms as California governor starting in 1975, when he was young, ascetic and so unconventional he was nicknamed Governor Moonbeam. This year, after stints as Oakland mayor and state attorney general, he overcomes the $144 million in personal funds (yes, that’s $144 million) spent by former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman and returns as governor at age 72. He’s just in time to cope with a projected $28 billion budget deficit (yes, that’s billion with a “b”). Brown says he’s bringing know-how, experience and something new — “a first lady,” the result of his marriage five years ago.

Happy Holidays All!

Just weeks after nearly one million Missourians passed Prop B — the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act — some Missouri politicans are already trying to completely repeal it.

That’s not just bad for the dogs, it’s also just plain bad politics when you consider what you’re overturning — the will of the people:

We’ll be reminding lawmakers that Prop B passed with a clear majority statewide; in fact, a majority of voters favored Prop B in a majority of state senate, state house, and congressional districts. Prop B won in five of the nine congressional districts—three that elected Democrats and two that elected Republicans. And it had winning margins in 18 of the 34 state senate districts—eight Democratic seats and ten Republican seats—with the “yes” side ranging from 50.9 percent to 79.4 percent. Sixteen of those winning senate districts had a 17-point margin or more for Prop B.

Elected officials should respect the will of the people. Subverting the judgment of voters is not right, and it is anti-democratic. Our system is built on majority rule, and a majority of Missouri citizens—including majorities in most legislative districts—favored Prop B. The voters acted precisely because the legislature has failed to stop puppy mill abuses. It is undemocratic, and would be wrong of lawmakers to usurp the power of the people and ignore their expressed will.

Despite some pretty ridiculous claims by the opposition, Prop B is simple and focused — it sets minimum standards for care in commercial dog breeding operations. That’s it. To think that Missouri voters got that wrong is pretty arrogant (not to mention inhumane).

The Jefferson City News-Tribune gets it right in a recent editorial:

Proposition B was among the most discussed and debated issues on the November ballot. To contend the voters were misled undermines their intelligence.

It doesn’t matter whether we — or other newspapers — opposed it, whether a vast majority of counties rejected it or whether legislators are happy with the outcome.

The initiative petition process, used to launch Proposition B, empowers people to propose public policy when their elected representatives fail to do so.

The proposition exemplifies the phrase “of the people and by the people.” And our state motto reminds us to respect the welfare and the people, including their ability to determine what that is.

With regard to Proposition B, let it be.

If you live in Missouri, tell your legislators exactly that: let it be — protect the dogs and the will of the people.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I consult with the Humane Society of the United States on ways to expand their online community to protect animals and confront cruelty — something very important to me and my family.

Capping off an amazing year, TIME just named “Echo” – an ad we were proud to work on with an amazing team on the Jerry Brown campaign – the #1 campaign ad of 2010:

Politician-speak is often a numbing string of familiar platitudes, vague exhortations to change government and do right by the American People. Jerry Brown’s ad, which put statements from his Republican rival for governor, Meg Whitman, side by side with nearly identical sound bites of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, could probably have been made with any two politicians. But Brown’s is a veritable masterpiece of the genre. Simultaneously throwing the dead weight of Schwarzenegger’s abysmal approval ratings around Whitman’s neck and marring the political neophyte with the mark of the incumbent, the 40-year career politician turned the tables on his well-funded foe. The core message of the ad, produced by veteran strategist Joe Trippi, comes through in the very first line, as the two Republicans echo, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”