Brits vs. PETA

Every time liberals mention that they're not hard-core extremists and list their moderate or conservative views, animal rights seems to come up. John Kerry hunted. AIDS activists campaign to use more chimps to discover a HIV vaccine. Bill Clinton loves Big Macs.

I am willing to pay higher taxes to protect national parks and endangered species and would like to see stiffer penalties for animal cruelty. However, I think groups like PETA are insane. So does England.

When I was 14, I heard a mouse behind a window curtain in our basement. I went to catch it only to have it turn out to be a full-sized rat. It spun around when it saw me and jumped at my face. I never moved so fast and the rat ran off into a crawl space. I suppose it's not fair to base my attitudes on one rodent but it did affect me. I can't help but notice that PETA type organizations are the only "liberal" groups more upper-class and white than an audience for Rush Limbaugh.