Clayton News Daily

Pit bulls often abused

Whether the 36 neglected pit bulls rescued from Raymond Barry Washington and John Holmes were used for felony dogfighting remains to be seen, but this case already clearly illustrates one harsh fact: Pit bulls are probably the most abused dog breed ("Men plead innocent to animal neglect," July 22).

Pit bulls are often starved and beaten to make them mean, trained to attack people and other animals or chained to metal drums as guard dogs.

People who abuse them are as dangerous as their dogs: Dogfighters often use puppies or cats as bait to teach dogs to attack. If the dogs lose a fight, they often shoot or burn the dogs alive, and violence toward animals is strongly linked to other violent crimes, including crimes against people.

Mental health professionals and top law enforcement officials consider cruelty to animals to be a red flag. The American Psychiatric Association identifies crimes against animals as one of the diagnostic criteria for conduct disorders, and the FBI uses reports of these crimes in analyzing the threat potential of suspected and known criminals. Experts agree that it is the severity of the abuse, not the species of the victim, that matters.

For more information on the link between cruelty to animals and humans, visit helpinganimals.com.

- Lindsay Pollard-Post

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Norfolk, Va.

Government, firms to blame for hiring cheap illegal labor

Ernest Wade of Loganville, whom I occasionally lock horns with on political issues, has written a terrific indictment ("New jobs ... for whom?" July 19) of all those responsible for turning a blind eye to allowing the employment of illegal aliens by American companies.

These companies want to enhance their bottom lines by avoiding having to pay higher wages required by American workers who could not possibly subsist on the miserable wages paid to the illegals. I place no blame on the illegals for seeking the means to support their families who live in impoverished countries where jobs are scarce or nonexistent.

The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of our government and the big corporations who work hand in hand to see that there is always a supply of cheap labor for their grist mills, the American worker be d-----.

I don't begin to have an answer to this problem, but Wade, perhaps the most knowledgeable person on the subject we'll ever see in this column, deserves a high-five for his enlightening revelations. Good show, Ernest.

- George Morin

Auburn

Asbestos bailout bill dishonors veterans

The asbestos bailout bill before the U.S. Senate dishonors all asbestos victims and especially U.S. Navy veterans, who from World War II on, were poisoned by asbestos and make up numbers of asbestos cancer victims.

How can we expect our young men and women to continue to join up and fight our wars when we do not support them when they return home? This bill only benefits the big U.S. corporations and not our veterans, who have given up so much to protect our freedom.

- Charles L. Adams

Roswell