PETA’s new rejected Super Bowl ad is causing quite a stir on various blogs but I was surprised when I navigated to CNN.com this morning and saw that “Vegetable Ad Too Hot For TV” was one of the top items on their “Latest News” section. Despite what you think about PETA or their exploitation of women (or men), they are by far the best at getting big time media coverage for animal rights. The CNN link takes you to a short video clip of their anchor Christi Paul fielding reactions from the “general public.” It’s worth watching the video to see how shocked (shocked!) and insulted people are about the video, never mind that two years ago they had Paris Hilton washing down a Bentley for Hardees or the girl from GoDaddy.com busting out of her top that got rave reviews. Well, I’m insulted that the “general public” thinks “exploitate” is an actual word. Maybe if they were having better sex they wouldn’t be so easily irritated. You can see the CNN video here or the original PETA ad here.

Always on the cutting edge of crazy, PETA has just released their new line of coffins. Yes, coffins! PETA has teamed up with eco-friendly coffin maker The Old Pine Box to offer their very own line of coffins to usher you tastefully (tastelessly?) into the afterlife. $75 from the sale of each PETA Coffin goes directly to PETA to continue fighting for animal rights even after you’re worm food. They come in a few different flavors including “Lifetime PETA Member”, “Told you I wouldn’t be caught dead in fur!”, and “Dead meat should be buried—not eaten.” You can pick up your very own at the The Old Pine Box’s website. I would buy one but I’m putting my money on the rapture.

PETA has been getting a lot of attention lately for calling on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont to raise health insurance premiums for people who eat meat and lower the premiums for vegetarians. PETA’s Executive Director Tracy Reiman sent a letter last Monday to Bill Milnes Jr., president of Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Vermont urging them to raise premiums on meat eaters to offset the diseases that have been conclusively linked to the consumption of meat. Kevin Goddard, Blue Cross’s vice president of external affairs states that “Under Vermont law, we would not be allowed to vary rates based on the dietary and nutritional habits of various members.” I don’t think it’s such a stretch to think that if you can have lower rates for smokers, you can have lower rates for vegetarians. CNN had a link to WPTZ.com with a short news story about it which you can view here.

Living in Southern California you tend to forget about how it gets cold, really cold, in the rest of the US during the winter. People who still have the notion that dogs are “outside pets” leave these poor animals defenseless during the freezing cold. In extreme instances where PETA sees these neglected dogs but does not have the authority to remove them, they will come in with a custom dog house filled with straw to keep them dry and warm during the harsh winter, give them food and flea medicine and a rotatable dog tether if necessary. You can click here to learn more about their fantastic “Angel for Animals” program and what you can do to help.

I’ve seen a couple examples of misguided anger in the last couple of days towards the passing of Prop 2. It’s certainly horrible that Prop 8 looks like it was defeated, but I know quite a few people who worked tirelessly on both campaigns. Discrimination, whether it’s homophobia or specisim, is awful in any form. I think that Michelle Cho from PETA did a great job summing it up in her letter to Samantha Ronson:

The passing of Prop 2 is a monumental victory that will afford millions of animals the
opportunity to stand up, turn around, and spread their wings, and it should be celebrated
by everyone who cares about animals. To all of us at PETA, and all the other animal
rights people who also protested the passage of Prop 8 by standing on street corners,
working the phones, and talking to friends and family about the bigotry of Prop 8—this
isn’t a “one or the other” situation. Abusing animals is always wrong, and discriminating
against gays is always wrong. We’ll continue to fight against the ban on gay marriage,
and we hope that we can have your support in our efforts to eliminate cruelty to animals.

Here’s hoping that Prop 8 still may find it’s way to a defeat this election year.

A couple of weeks ago Ingrid Newkirk stopped by Skylight Books in Los Angeles to promote her new book One Can Make A Difference. After she was done with the signing, Vegan Collection Blog contributor and Positive Television CEO Prabhat Gautam grabbed her for a short interview about celebrities, charities, and circuses. Check out what she had to say:

PETA founder and all around animal advocate Ingrid Newkirk will be in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 22nd at Skylight Books promoting her new book One Can Make A Difference. I have to confess that I have not picked this book up yet, but I plan on doing so. It is a collection of essays from over 50 activists and “world changers” ranging from Oliver Stone to The Dalai Lama. Here are the details:

Skylight Books
Time: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Title of Event: INGRID NEWKIRK

Click here for more information.