Puppy Mill Propaganda Part III

The Shame of Pennsylvania
Puppy Mill Propaganda - Part III

A New Web Forms

In Parts I & II, we gave you basic outlines of the facts surrounding the current issues in Pennsylvania. Today, we give you even more. A
brand new kind of web !

A & N Research
_____________________________________________________________________________________ MOVING FURTHER INTO THE WEB

We promised, in Part II, to get back to the Main Line Rescue Board Members, so - let's proceed.

WEBS OF GOLD AND SILVER

Main Line Rescue - Board of Directors

Helen M. Smith, President
Helen M. Smith is the mother of William E. Smith. She is listed as the President, however, on the current 990's, she is listed as the Treasurer. This is clearly a family affair.

William E. Smith, Treasurer

Founder and spokesman of Main Line Rescue . Smith has managed to lease, w/option to buy, the Old Pickering Hunt Club at 113 Cambridge/Chester Springs (Phoenixville) The new digs consist of, (so far), a 9,500 sq ft bldg with 79 kennels on 58 acres of open space. They will begin a campaign to raise $2.3 million to pay for these new digs. Currently, they have 2 employees and 50 volunteers. Their kennel manager is Megan Anderson.

Betsy Legnini, Chairman
In our last issue, we briefly mentioned that the Main Line Animal Rescue facilities had to be moved, due to eminent domain. Bob Smith and friends formed the Boxwood Five Partners to petition the East Pikeland Commission for a new property.

The Boxwood Five was represented by Bob and Betsy Legnini, Attorney Gregory Davis, Engineer Martin J. Swaggard and Bill Smith of Main Line Animal Rescue.
The French Pickering Creek Conservation, Inc. organization, yet another Pa. 501(c)3 organization, controlled the dealings. Their 2004 IRS 990 shows a net balance of $2,652,205. The 58 acre land conservation easement is on the French and Pickering Creeks. Are they concerned about the dog 'pollution' from the Main Line Rescue kennels? Could this possibly be the same group that protested in front of the capitol that was concerned about "animal pollution?" We checked. It is.
Bill Smith was very concerned about "puppy mills" doing just this when he spoke at the rally which was held on the steps of the Pennsylvania capital building.

Francine Diggs
Francine is listed as the MLR Secretary. She is also President of the VSI Group, Inc. VSI Group is one of the fastest growing companies in metering and customer services for utilities (electric, gas, and water), meter manufacturers, and municipalities with over 700 employees nationwide. Francine oversees business planning and development and strategic planning for the Company. She is a former Deputy State Treasurer of Pennsylvania, earned an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Howard University.


Betsy Fadem, Member
Betsy Fadem, another MLR BOD member, was elected to the Treddyfin/Easttown School District in Berwyn, PA in 2001. She is chair of the Policy Committee, a member of the Finance Committee and represents Easttown, Region 3. She has resided in T/E for nine years and her two children attend T/E schools. She once ran for a seat in Region Three.

Anne Hamilton, Vice Chairman
Anne Hamilton is the Vice Chairman of MLR, and is the daughter-in-law of of Dorrance “Do Do”Hamilton, the Campbell Soup Heir. She is the widow of brokerage executive, Samuel M. V. Hamilton. You might want to read the linked article we found about Anne (above). Quite an eye opener.

The rich are definitely different.

Dorrance "Dodo" Hamilton (above, right) leaves Criminal Justice Center after testifying yesterday.


Barry Katz, Esq., Legal Council
Barry, of Rosemont, Pennsylvania is President and General Counsel for Belmont Holdings Corp. located in Bala Cynwyd, PA. Belmont Holdings Corp., a private company, deals in miscellaneous monmetallic minerals, other crushed and broken stone mining and quarrying. They also mine and develop diatomaceous earth.


Vincent T. Donohue, Secretary
Vincent is also listed as Secretary for MLR. He is a partner at the firm of Lamb McErlane in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Since 1998, Vince Donohue has advised Lamb McErlane's clients on all matters related to business law, including business formation, equity structuring and recapitalization, owner relationships, debt and equity investments, tax and employment issues, leases and related financing arrangements, and real estate transactions.

Vince has successfully represented corporations and business owners in a long list of notable cases including a manufacturing client in the $7 million acquisition of a competitor's assets.

Vince's case experience also includes representing clients in the communications industry in connection with a $1.2 billion sale of stock by its shareholders; the Housing Authority of the County of Chester in connection with the restructuring and refinancing of its mixed-finance development projects; a closely held business in the creation, structuring and implementation of a business succession plan for its family member shareholders; and an operator of early childhood learning centers in a dispute with its landlord which was resolved by the acquisition of the subject real estate from the landlord.

As a former tax consultant, Vince provided tax consulting and advisory services for transactions involving many Fortune 500 companies.

Vince is actively involved in a number of Chester County organizations including the Foundation of the Chester County Chamber, The Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, the Chester County Historical Society and the Tredyffrin Township Historic Preservation Trust.

Julie Becton, Director
Julie is listed as a MLR director. She is also the secretary of the USS Laffey Association which is dedicated to two WWII battleships, one of which is in the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, Mt. Pleasant, SC. Her father was Frederick Julian, a USN Rear Admiral.
USS Laffey Association
Julie Becton - Secretary
212 Cherry Lane
Wynnewood, PA 19096
(610) 642-8025


Marsha Perelman, Vice Chairman
Marsha Reines Perelman - Mrs. Jeffrey Perelman - is Vice Chair of Main Line Rescue and the sister-in-law of Revolon cosmetics chief, Ron Perelman.

Marsha wears many hats. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Woodforde Management, Inc. holding company (which donated to Democrat Bob Casey)and is located in Ardmore, PA. Her company with a similar name - Woodlorde Energy did the same. M.R. Perelman is co-founder and president of Clearfield Ohio Holdings, Inc., a gas gathering and distribution company. She is co-founder and VP of Clearfiled Energy, Inc., a crude oil gathering and distribution company. Add to that the title of VP of the Penn Central Energy Group of the Penn Central Coporation and Director of Penn Virginia Resource GP, LLC. Marsha is a Director for Leadership Philadelphia and a board member of the City Gala Advisory Board, along with Anne Hamilton and Governor Ed Rendell, who also sit on that board. It just so happens that Marsha is also on the BOD of the ASPCA and one of their corporate sponsors is Iams pet food. Coincidentally, Iams delivered 35,000 pounds of free dog and cat food to Main Line Rescue. We wonder if they know that PETA cites IAMS for cruelty in animal testing?

The Buddy System

Anne Hamilton, Marsha R. Perelman and Governor Edward G. Rendall all sat on the BOD of the Franklin Institute in 2004. You could just click here to see the whole gang on one page. Belmont Holdings, Perelman Theatre, Hamilton Gardens - along with some other interesting trivia! Also be sure to visit the Academy of Fine Arts in the Samual M.V. Hamilton Building - also chaired by the same group.

A little background history:

Raymond G. Perelman* is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of RGP Holdings, Inc. and Belmont Holdings Corp. Both companies comprise a vast array of manufacturing, mining and financial interests. Raymond and Ruth Perelman are trustees of an Education Foundation which carries their name. In 2005, they donated $25 million to the PENN Medicine's Center. Their sons are Jeffrey E. and Ronald O. Ronald is Chairman of the BOD for MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings and Chairman of the BOD of the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Revlon Consumer Products Corporation. Ronald is also a trustee of the Univ of Penn. He established the Ronald O. Perelman Professorship in Finance and the Perelman Quadrangle. Jeffrey is Chairman and CEO of JEP Management, Inc. and he is Secretary of the board of Trustees of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Raymond is also a Penn Medicine Trustee and has donated to Santorum. Raymond and Ruth are also Trustees of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman Education Foundation that supports Jewish cultural and welfare organizations.

Old Towels and Laundry Detergent Needed !!

Humorously interesting, we present you with this article. Megan Anderson says "MLAR doesn't just need money donations, but simple things such as old towels and laundry detergent."
With the support and backers they have, they can manufacture all the towels and detergent that they could ever need. They can get all the Revlon products they could wish for, and feed everybody Campbell Soup products forever. One quick signature on a check or the pocket change out of somebody's purse would give them the $2.3 million that they intend to dupe from the uneducated public - a public that has NO idea of what is truly behind a non profit, 501(c)3, very well funded, politically connected organization.

Are you running around collecting up old towels now? Doesn't it just make you want to run out and buy up all the Tide you can find to send to them?

Interesting last minute note

In 2004, MLR received a $5,000 grant from the Dade Community Foundation in FLORIDA !
We'll give you more information on this when our little spider returns from there with his report !!

UAPM (United Against Puppy Mills) is the media contact for the "Puppy Mill" campaign publicity. They work behind the scenes and keep their membership as private as possible. However, we do know they were founded in May 2005, that their PA business registration number is 3303231 and that their registered office address is 1305 Wheatland Ave in Lancaster.

The address belongs to J. Glenn Ebersole's J.G. Associates' office. He is also the founder of the Renaissance Group, on the board of the Advisors of Penn State, is running a 5-year term on the Lancaster Commission and Is Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Modern Transit Authority. Each of these positions affords him many influential contacts within Pennsylvania.

His wife, Helen Ebersole, is one of the co-founders of UAPM. Helen is the Community Action Commissioner of Lancaster and on is on the Lancaster Zoning Commission. She is also on the Zoning Committee in Lancaster which just happens to review Kennel Licenses. Helen is also involved in many other community organizations and is the Continuing Education Co-ordinator for Penn State. Helen is a member of the Lancaster Italian Society and so is another UAPM co-founder, Josette A. Armini. In fact, Josette received a college scholarship from the Lancaster Italian Society.

We already mentioned Jackie Keeney in a prior issue, who wrote a letter on the Save-a-Dog letterhead representing UAPM, and posted it to the Save-A-Dog website. She is an attorney and member of the Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. Bar Associations plus she has over ten years experience in the real estate market and title business.

The press stated that Dee Strathmeyer of Neffsville was also a UAPM member but she still remains illusive. However, no thread in the web will remain hidden forever. UAPM will be holding a special meeting in January, 2007 - a "refresher" course. Some of you might like to attend !

A name that kept popping up, but not included with any animal related organization, was Linda Figueroa. Helen Ebersole is the Community Action Commissioner of Lancaster, Linda Figueroa is the Executive Director of Community Action in Harrisburg. In 2003, Linda and J. Glenn Ebersole were appointed to the board of directors of MTP. Both Linda and J.Glenn hold seats in other endeavors, as well. If you go here, you will get some valuable information. Then Liz Figueroa (D-Ca) showed up here, along with Sally Tully Figueroa. All at the same site? Further investigation showed that Sally Tully Figueroa is a DDB representative for Puerto Rico and the secretary of this organization. Coincidentally, she is also the owner of this organization. We'll get back to that investigation at a later date for another issue. You can count on it.

What a Web !

Attorneys, real estate agents, city planners and more, help connect this web. Each has a useful purpose in the movement to shut down your kennels, your hobby, and take away your rights to own animals. These people and groups are politically motivated and have built their web on the limbs of animal rights rhetoric.

SNEAK PEEKS

Political Contributions
Marsha R. Perelman of Woodford Energies to Rendell for Governor $7,500.00
Marsha R. Perelman of Woodforde Energy to Bob Casey for Senate $4,000.00

From the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue group:
"Thank you, Governor Rendell. Your support through letters, emails, and donations helps to ease a great many worries and we can't offer enough thanks for your part in helping us Goldens."

Governor Rendell holds a 10:30 am Capitol press conference to "make a major 'energy' announcement. Then at noon, he's in Gettysburg for the 2005 Golden Retriever Club of America's judging and Rescue Dog Parade. (Wonder if Bob Casey's aide was there, too?)

Until next issue, we leave you with these important messages:

From Lost and Found Dog Rescue - "Don't BUY a puppy from ANYONE in the Lancaster, Pa. (717) area code or ANYONE who "sells" puppies rather than rescues them.

and

From Save-A-Dog - Support Dog Adoption and Rescue. Why go to a DOG BREEDER or pet store to buy a dog when you can adopt?

NEXT ISSUE - Deeper into the Web
Rendell's new rules and regulations and new advisory board members !

Puppy Mill Propaganda

When we were first asked to look into the puppy mill issue in Pennsylvania by a very good friend of ours, we thought ... "Sure. It shouldn't take long." Never, in our wildest dreams did we think we would be taken on such a ride. As we write this first report, we are still unraveling the web we found. For those of you that liked to play "connect the dots" as a child, you may want to follow these reports. We're going to show you a whole new way to play the adult version.

A & N Research
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The Shame of Pennsylvania - Puppy Mill Propaganda & Power 101
Part One of a Series ...

Puppy Mill Propaganda

Governor Rendell is on a mission to eradicate puppy mills in Pennsylvania. What are puppy mills? How do they differ from top-notch breeding facilities? They don’t. Not to the animal rights crowd anyway, and this is where the problem begins.

There is a difference between genuine animal welfare and hard core animal rights beliefs and agendas. Breeding facilities that are not properly run and administered diminish the welfare of animals, and this problem should be addressed – with common sense.

However, animal rights activists do not believe dogs should be bred period. They have no first hand knowledge of a professional dog breeding operation and therefore, are not qualified to make blanket judgements regarding them. To them, all dog breeding facilities are “puppy mills.”

Interestingly, the term “puppy mill” was coined by the animal rights movement and they have cashed in on this propaganda, big time. “Puppy mill” has become such a hot-button, emotionally-charged concept, that donations to help the cause, i.e. shutting them down, began to flow into their coffers. That kind of money buys people of great power and influence.

The animal rights movement operates on manipulating public opinion and they are masters of the art. Keep in mind that these groups are non profit, tax free organizations. Shutting down animal related businesses is their one goal and they have the time and money to focus on their causes. In contrast, animal-related businesses focus on the care of their animals. Breeding and raising animals takes dedication, hard work and money that must be earned. Profits, if any, are taxed and reinvested into the business.

Our very country was founded upon the principal that those who are taxed must have representation. America fought and won her independence from England because they were taxed without representatives in Parliament, and the spirit of that principal should still apply. Why are non profit agencies permitted to dictate laws to politicians and the public which cripple our system of free enterprise?

Due to the actions of two animal rights groups, Main Line Animal Rescue (MLAR/MLR) and United Against Puppy Mills (UAPM), Pennsylvania is now called the Puppy Mill Capital of the East. This is actually libel and slander on a big scale, and every citizen who pays taxes in Pennsylvania should stand up and tell their legislators Enough is Enough! Has anyone taken the time to look behind the $500 a month billboards erected by Main Line Rescue to see how they are supported? There are other organizations that have erected billboards, such as Last Chance for Animals, as well, and Main Line is now asking other states who believe they have a puppy mill in any area to begin the "erect a billboard" campaign. All of these billboards promote the web site of the advertiser along with the H$U$ web site.

This nonsense has been going on for several years now and it is time that people connect the political dots.

In early 2005, the Keystone Golden Retriever Rescue (KGRR) filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and its Bureau of Dog Law. They claimed that the Bureau of Dog Law was not properly enforcing PA statutes. Ultimately, the controversy would lead to grandstanding by Gov. Rendell, who dismissed all 14 members of the dog law advisory panel.

A former chief inspector for the HSUS, and who is now consultant to the ASPCA, admitted that the laws were good. Of course he would say they were good since he helped to write the 1982 dog laws. He claimed, however, that "if the existing laws were adequately enforced, there would be an 80% improvement in kennel operations." In many states, HSUS-affiliated humane societies contract with cities and receive large amounts of money for various services such as writing studies on how to improve already existing city-run shelters; for becoming the city’s official shelter, for licensing cats and dogs; for spay neuter services etc. They would like to take away state authority to write, monitor and enforce laws and give it to themselves while at the same time making a non-taxable profit!

Can you say... Conflict of Interest?!?!?

The Dog Law Advisory Board included fair representation including animal welfare group members, animal researchers, dog breeders, farmers, police, county treasurers, veterinarians, sportsmen and pet shop owners. All these people were directly involved with animal welfare issues. Nonetheless, they were fired with short notice while an ad hoc committee was formed that would help the administration develop a “response to puppy mills.”

And just who has been appointed to the ad hoc committee? For starters, none other than Bob Baker, former chief inspector of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and current consultant to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Baker hired an undercover animal-right investigator to produce a video inside an alleged puppy mill. The animal rights people have been known to doctor photos and videos before.

Interestingly, the video and the PA Puppy Mill story are featured on the Animal Rights Liberation (ALF) net site. ALF has been named one of the top 10 U.S. terrorist organizations by the FBI. Numerous witness testimonies have been presented before the U.S. Congress concerning the AR terrorists and the harm they have done to individuals and businesses.

United Against Puppy Mills (UAPM) is a group of so called, "concerned citizens" who claim to be no more than 'normal everyday housewives, evidenced by their "occupation" listed on their political donations which they undoubtedly do NOT get from the cookie jar in the kitchen. This group is associated with Save-A-Pet, yet another Pennsylvania animal rightist group. UAPM started a petition in Pennsylvania to have the Dog Law Enforcement Bureau removed from the "jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Agriculture." They claim that this will protect the companion animals from competing with farm animals. They further petitioned that the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement become the Dog Law Commission and report only to the Governor. In between wash loads and picking up the kids from school, this creative bunch of concerned citizens has also been petitioning local zoning boards to deny kennel permits. While the housewives were busy with those issues, the Save-A-Dog group was promoting UAPM's word changes to Pa. HB 1476 regarding revocation, suspension or refusal of kennel licenses.
This group has gone as far as sending letters and providing a link to all 27 representatives on the Pa. Consumer Affairs Committee. They explain that "this is the committee who decides if the bill is passed or thrown out." They also, will pay for the postage to mail all 27 letters for you. It is imperative to note here that both of these groups are avid $antorum followers and are very aware of, and promote the PAWS bill on their web sites.

Main Line Rescue moved it's Animal Rescue of more than 150 dogs and cats from is original kennel in Valley Forge to a new, larger facility located in East Vincent Township. When they were forced to move their kennel from Dee Solitario's property due to eminent domain claiming the land for a new highway, they discovered, or somebody knew about the Pickering Hunt Club. The property was complete with 58 acres that was protected and could never be developed. They now have a temporary kennel on the property and a new kennel will begin construction in the fall. Interestingly, there are some permit issues regarding the 'purchase' of said property. It would seem that all the "interested parties" are many and the property is not actually going to be 'purchased.'

One needs to wonder how a small rescue organization could afford such an exorbitant expense. Enter SAC, a Pa. Non Profit Civic Action organization that helped Main Line Animal Rescue obtain the Hunt Club. It's interesting to note that Main Line claims to work closely with other rescue organizations and SPCA's. They claim that they take in dogs from all of Pa., NJ, NYC, St. Croix in the Virgin Islands and several other states, including Florida. These animals are sent to Main Line when others have a space limitation or if the animal needs special medical needs or if the animal is scheduled for euthanasia. Main Line arranges all the transport of these animals and boasts that over half of their dogs and cats come to them from other shelters. By now, you must be asking yourself...if there are so many puppy mills in Pennsylvania creating such an overpopulation of animals, why would they need to transport animals from other areas to their facility? As per Pa. law, it is illegal to transport animals into the state without proper paperwork, but then again, we are dealing with yet another non profit organization.

Can you say....discriminatory?!?!

Power 101

Long ago, power had some personality. It had a face. It walked among us all ... but those days are long gone. So, where is power? Who has it? Most importantly, who wants it? The Enron incident, and several others, created a change in the thought processes of those that had, wanted to have and wanted to flaunt their power. Those that were in the limelight realized that the old trend of getting together the night before and having a nice dinner, sitting back to smoke the best cigars your money could buy, while sipping favorite drinks at the local country club, and then going into a rubber stamp meeting were gone. The faces of power disappeared. They no longer walked amongst us. The Board of Directors still maintain the power to an extent, but they realize that they are under intense scrutiny these days...or they should. The old adage that if you wanted to get somewhere you had to reach the top, no longer holds true. The face of Power, today, is in the nodes, hidden in the networks. It's not at the top. It's not at the bottom. It's not lurking in the throngs of mass movements. It's somewhere in the middle where the links come together. That's where the action is, buried deep in the dark, in a spiderless web, exactly the way a real spider operates. It builds its web and it sits in the middle surrounded by its hard work. It waits for its prey - still sitting in the middle - waiting for its web to do its job.

Today, power means being connected. The most powerful person is the faceless individual who has the most connections to others within that dark endless web. The spider with the most elaborate web wins another season of survival just like the power players with the most board seats win. These power players are easy to identify if you look for them. Their 'spider in the middle' is also easy to identify...that's the one that never has to be anywhere in particular, never really does anything concrete and never returns phone calls which means that, suddenly, power is unseen, unheard, and unavailable but ready to strike at a moment's notice. Power is not leadership. Power is working through others from a distance.

Next Issue - We enter the web ... "24" style !!
Politicians - People - Wealth and Influence