Supreme Court, supine stupidity

In case you missed the latest mindboggling news, here it is: The US Supreme Court has invalidated the “Depiction of Animal Cruelty Act,” the federal law against commercial trade of videos, photos, and other depictions of cruelty to animals. The argument is that The First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, also protects the right of perverts to “express” themselves by crushing little animals, or making dogs fight to the death, or throwing cats from roofs, or torturing …

Help me to understand: While cruelty to animals is generally a felony, it’s lawful to create, sell, or possess depictions of it? Shouldn’t those materials be “evidence” to lead authorities to the criminals? Apparently it is possible to produce a chicken without an egg, or vice versa.

Turns out that regardless what dastardly crime was committed, its “expression” is acceptable provided it has “serious religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical, or artistic value.” I see: Just don’t impale a chicken for laughs or incinerate a dog for the wrong reasons. It has to have a redeeming social message. Okie dokie … I suppose this ruling also legitimizes child pornography, human rape, torture, and murder videos for serious religious, political, scientific …

What we have here is blatant speciesism. Unless (pardon the oxymoron) “Congress remedies the situation” with a new, unassailable law protecting animals from abuse for purposes of freedom of expression, we are witnessing an epochal setback in the snail-pace progress toward some semblance of animal rights or of human decency.

We should be concerned that eight of the Supreme Court Justices – with the commendable exception of Samuel A. Alito, the lone dissenter – were literal about the letter of the law to the point of ignoring its intent, which is to prevent cruelty to animals and all its nefarious consequences on human society. Are we too far gone past common horse sense to understand the Pandora’s Box this is opening?

Exercise your freedom of speech –as it was intended— and contact your representatives in DC to speak for those who can’t and who will be tortured and murdered for kicks unless we express the outrage this Supreme Court ruling deserves.

ps: There has been immediate reaction (even from Congress) to this unbelievably stupid and insensitive ruling.

Did you notice that among the 50+ original sponsors of the reaction bill there is not a single one from OK? Surprise, surprise. On the positive side of OK, a Bill to strictly regiment puppy mills has passed the House and is now in the Senate. It's high time. I hope animal people keep up the pressure.