Isn't There Something More Important To Focus On?

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PETA, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and President Obama's assault on a fly came together in a media inspired, blogosphere created, teachable moment. The story begins with President Obama sitting down for an interview at the White House with CNBC's John Harwood. Preparing to discuss the state of the national economy, a pesky fly began buzzing around the president's head. The fly, though extremely persistent, proved no match for the President.

President Obama’s ninja-like moves brought the fly down in impressive fashion. Into the media firestorm of the Presidents assault enters PETA:

As we all know, human beings often don't think before they act. We don't condemn President Obama for acting on instinct. When the media began contacting us in droves for a statement, we obliged, simply by saying that the president isn't the Buddha and shouldn't be expected to do everything right—if not for that, we would not have brought it up. It's the media who are making a big deal about the fly swat—not PETA. However, we took the opportunity, when asked, to point out that we do offer lots of ways in which to control insects of all kinds without harming them, including the humane bug catcher we sent President Obama.

PETA simply took advantage of a situation forced upon them by the media. The President swats a fly, everyone calls PETA for a reaction. Many exaggerate: "PETA condemns Obama", etc. The fact is that PETA is a media savvy animal rights organization that will take advantage of every situation to plead the case of animal rights.

PETA is promoting alternatives to eating animals, opposing fur and products made from animal skin, opposing laboratories that torment animals, and fighting the abuse of animals in circus training camps as well as other overt abuses. These are all good and noble things. According to PETA, animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.